


the more that you say, the less i know

by gingermaggie



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Character Study, Introspection, M/M, Pre-Relationship, posting old works from tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-14
Updated: 2013-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29884956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingermaggie/pseuds/gingermaggie
Summary: If he was being perfectly honest with himself, Carlos had to admit he was not as entirely focused on science all the time as it might seem.--reposted from tumblr, originally posted december 2013
Relationships: Carlos/Cecil Palmer





	the more that you say, the less i know

**Author's Note:**

> Hi 2021, I'm posting WTNV fic that I wrote in 2013 :) Realized some of my old, short fics never made the trip over here. This one didn't have a title, so I went with lyrics from "willow" by taylor swift. other contenders included "wreck my plans, that's my man," also from willow, or something from gold rush.

If he was being perfectly honest with himself, Carlos had to admit he was not as entirely focused on science all the time as it might seem.

When he first arrived in Night Vale, of course, he was. He had never seen such a collection of fascinating and almost laughably unbelievable phenomena. He knew from hour one of day one that he could spend years in this strange little desert town and still be in the middle of cataloguing all the strange things he found, not to mention analyzing and understanding them.

And then he met Cecil.

From their first meeting Cecil was unsettling. He looked perfectly normal, if rather tall and skinny, yet his entire person seemed to radiate the same odd feeling of otherworldly strangeness that the whole of Night Vale did; that weird little inkling of something off that Carlos couldn’t quite quantify or explain. And even besides that, he was so…enthusiastic. He bubbled with cheerfulness and interest in everything he spoke about on his radio show, and yet he made the most supernatural proclamations and occurrences seem run-of-the-mill and mundane—and yet he sounded excited.

He said hello to Carlos for the first time in that same way—eager and outgoing, with that smooth radio voice and a flourishing bow that made Carlos stumble back in confused surprise. Despite his discomfort, Carlos found himself admiring Cecil, a little bit. The poor, shy science geek persona he’d never quite outgrown was astonished at Cecil’s confidence and manner and bright smile. The grown-up scientist Carlos had matured into managed to keep a lid on that side of himself and a collected face forward.

Still, Cecil had caught his eye.

It wasn’t long before the two had spoken more. Carlos found plenty of reasons to justify it—Cecil’s radio show was a quick and easy way to get important information about dangerous circumstances to the Night Vale populace. Cecil had connections in the City Council. Cecil could help with this or Cecil could get him that. In truth, though, Carlos just liked talking to Cecil.

Part of it, he decided, was the voice.

It was smooth and rich, with just the right lit to make it interesting and a slightly sarcastic tone. Carlos was fairly certain he could calculate its properties down to the slightest detail. He liked hearing it. The voice was part of the reason he always made it a point to listen to Cecil’s show. The other part was Cecil himself.

Like Night Vale itself, Cecil was a mystery—an intriguing, undeniably interesting mystery. Like the dog park that no one talked about or the glowing cloud no one found especially concerning, the equation that was Cecil didn’t seem to have one answer, if any answer at all.

But that didn’t mean Carlos wouldn’t keep trying.

Carlos was a scientist, after all. He was only looking to solve the otherworldly mysteries of Night Vale and its residents. For science.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

**Author's Note:**

> [romansuzume on tumblr!](http://romansuzume.tumblr.com/)


End file.
